Wall and ceiling construction



Oct. 22, 1935. F. A. MANSKE ET m.

, WALL AND CEILING CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb'. 20, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 K6 m E mmfi m mME 0 AR n o A Ew Fo F. A. MANSKE El AL I WALL AND CEILING CONSTRUCTION- Filed Feb. 20, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvENTORi D A.MANSKE Lwee E Guesow 4 Arr-055% EE 0 BY Patented Oct. 22,

WALL AND CEILING CONSTRUCTION Fred'A. Manske and Oliver E. Gibson, Chicago,

111., assignors to United States Gypsum Qompany, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application February 20, 1932, Serial No. 594,282 10 Claims. (01. 72-118) S PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to building constructions, and has reference more particularly to wall and ceiling constructions in which building panels are attached to supporting studs or frame 5 work.

In the construction of buildings, it is desirable to have means of attaching building panels, such as gypsum boards, fibre boards, etc., to studs or other supporting frame work which may be easily and quickly erected with a low cost of labor, and to also permit the contraction and expansion of the building panels due to changes in temperature. In some cases it is desirable to have panel strips for attachment of building panels in which the panel strips lie flush against the exposed surfaces of the panels.

An object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a means for attaching building panels to studs or other frame work, which will be easy to erect with a low cost of erection.

Another object is to provide substantially flush panel strips for better decorative appearance.

A further object of the invention is to provide an attaching means for building panels which will allow contraction and expansion of the panels due to changes in temperature: also, to im prove building constructions in other respects hereinafter specified and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in

which Fig. 1 is a perspective, sectional view of our improved suspended ceiling construction,

' Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the locking and supporting clips,

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation through the suspended ceiling construction,

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation through the suspended ceiling construction with boards removed,

Fig. 5 is a perspective, sectional view of a modifled form of ceiling construction,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the supporting clips used in the construction shown in Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a perspective, sectional view of a form of wall construction, I

Fig. 8 is a perspective, sectional view of a modifled form of ceiling construction in which the ceiling boards are attached directly to supporting steel beams,- f

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the attaching clips used'in the construction shown in Fig. 8,

Fig. 10 is an elevation of the attaching clips and supporting runner shown in Fig.8,

Fig. 11 is a perspective, sectional view of a modified form of attaching clip for attachment tosteel channels,

Fig. 12' is a sectional elevation of'a modified form of attaching clip to be used for steel channels. .c

Fig. 13 is a further modified form of attaching cup Fig. 14 is a modified form of attaching clip used for resiliently connecting the boards to steel channels in order to secure sound-proofing and 10 insulating effects, and

Fig. 15 is a sectional, perspective view of a modified form of wall construction in which clips are used for attaching directly to wooden studs.

In the construction of buildings, it is frequentl5 1y found desirable'to form a ceiling supporting frame work of bar joists having upper cord 2! and lower cord or beam 22, connected by tie rods 23. The cords 2i and 22 are often formed of angle strips with legs of adjacent angles back 0 to back and welded together and with the bars 23 interposed'between said legs. In order to support building panels 24 in a plane below thebar joist 20, .we provide H-shaped channel or runner strips 25 for supporting adjoining edges of the 5, building panel boards 24. The runners 25 are preferably constructed of sheet metal folded to form a body portion 26, the edges of which are folded back upon this body portion to .form flanges 21, which are again bent upwardly to form closely abutting channel webs 28. The upper edges of webs 28 are bent outwardly .to form flange strips 29, the flanges 21 and 29 and the webs 28 forming oppositely disposed channels for the reception of the adjoining edges of the boards 24. It is understood that these panels or building boards 24 may be composed of any suitable material such as fiber board, gypsum board, or other cementitious boards having a core material 30 of gypsum or other cementitious material, faced on each surface with heavy paper cover sheets 3|. One of thecover sheets 3], is preferably folded about each edge of the core 30 and has inwardly turned flaps 32 which underlie the outer edge'oi the opposite cover sheet and are preferably adhesively secured thereto.

In order to suspend the runners 25 from the bar joists 20, we provide locking clips 33 which are preferably formed of sheet metal. The sheet metal is formed into a folded pair of body flanges 3l having their faces inabutting relation, the

lower edges of said flanges being bent outwardly at about degrees to formflanges 35,.which in turn are then bent inwardly at an acute angle an inspection of Fig. 4 it will be seen that the flanges 36 flare downwardly so that the edges of the boards or panels 24 serve to engage these flanges and bend them upwardly into parallel relation with the flanges 35 and 29, thus locking the clips 33 at the desired location along the run- 15 ners 25. V

A slot 38 is punched through the two 'body flanges 34 for the reception of one end of a flexible steel strap 39 which is threaded through said slot and then bent back on itself, the free end 40 of said strap being secured to the body of the strap by means of a sliding U shaped keeper 4|. The upper end of the strap 39 is also. looped over the bottom chord 22 of the bar joist 26 and is secured to the body of the strap by a sliding keeper 42. It will be seen that the strap 39 enables the mechanic to adjust the height of the boards 24 to any desired position relative to the bar joist 26'.

In order to secure the advantages of being able to slide the supporting slips to any desired position relative to the runner even. after building panels are engaged by the runner, we provide the modified form of construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6, in which a runner body 45 is folded back on itself on each edge to form flanges 46, which in turn are bent upwardly to form web flanges 41. The upper edges of flanges 41 are bent out-- wardly to form flanges 48. The members 46, 41, and 46, form oppositely disposed U-shaped channels for the reception of the boards 24 as hereinabove described. However in this form of construction, the flanges .46 are formed somewhat narrower in width so that the web flanges 41 are not in abutting relation but are separated a sumcient distance toslidably receive the body 49 of a supporting clip. The flanges 46 are also separated somewhat from the runner body 45 so as to leave space to slidably receive outwardly extending flanges 5| formed on the bottom of the clip body 49. The upper edge of the clip body 49 is preferably formed with. a key-shaped recess 52, which includes a horizontally extending slot 53 for the reception of the lower flange 54- of a.

light weight grillage channel strip 55. A lug '56 is also formed on the clip body 49 adjacent the slot 53 and before erection, the lug 56 extends horizontally .as seen in Fig. 6. After the clip 50 has been put in position on the lower flange 54, the lug 56 is bent upwardly to the dot and dash position shown in Fig. 6 so as to lock said clip on the channel flange 54.

The constructions hereinabove described are suitable for use in ceiling constructions or metal stud walls, but in Fig. 'l we illustrate a modified form of the invention in which the building panels.

24 are tobe attached to vertical wooden studs 58 which form the frame work of a building. In

this wall construction, it is preferable to arrange the building panels 24 so that they extend at right angles to the studs 56. -The runner strip 25 used in this construction is preferably identical to that used in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4. An attaching clip 59 is formed with a body member 66 having inwardly extendlng flanges 6|, one flange being formed on each edge of the body portion 69 and extending outframe work for sound-proofing purposes.

a case, we employ a clip body portion 68 which is 70 wardly at a slight angle to said body member 66.

The flanges 6| are of suflicient width so that the space between the inner edges thereof is suflicient -to receive the two web flanges 28. Ears 62 are also bent laterally from the edges of body 68 opposite the flanges 6|, and each ear is provided with a perforation for receiving a nail 63 which is driven into the stud 58 to flrmly attach the clip 59 to said stud. It will thus be seen that the boards 24 being inserted in the channels of the 10 runner 25, will depress the flanges 6| and thus securely lock the runner 25 in position relative to the clip 59. At the same time the panels 24 are allowed to slightly contract and expand due to changes in temperature in the building as their 15 Fig. 15 is employed. This clip 65 has a body DQI- 30 tion 66 with a pair of flanges 61 similar .to flanges 6| bent back fromopposite edges of said body portion. Flanges or ears 66 are also formed on the body 66 of the clip so as to embrace one edge of the stud 56, said ears being provided with per- 25 foration for the reception of nails 69 to be driven into the studs 56. The runner used in this construction is identical with the runner 25 shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 and is placed in position between the flanges 61 and the body 66 of theclip. 30

In some types of construction, it is desirable to attach the clips and runners directly to steel I-beams 10 which are provided with a pair of outstanding flanges along each edge of the web of the'beam. In such a construction, attaching 35 clips 12 are used, which difler from the clips shown in Fig. '7 only as to size and to the fact that no perforation is provided for the reception of nails. The ears 62 are merely bent around the flanges H or may bepre-formed and slipped along the beam flanges 1| to the desired position. When steel channels I4 are employed instead of the. I-beams I0, a modified form of clip shown in Fig. 11 is used in which one of the flanges 15 is allowed to stand upright flush against the webof the channel I4. Another flange 16 extends over the'upper face of a bottom flange T1 of said channel. The attaching clip has the usual tapered flanges 18 which connect to the runner 25 in a manner hereinabove described. When con- 0 nection is to be made to channel beams, the construction shown in Figs. 12 and 13 may be used. In the construction shown in Fig. 12, the body.

' portion 13 of the attaching clip may be provided with an integral strap which is bent around 55 against web 65 of the channel,- and the upwardly v curved flange 86 is formed on the opposite edge of the body portion 83. With this type of. clip, the same may be placed in position on the bottom flange 82 by a simple angular movement of the 5 clip.

siliently attach the panels 24 to the supporting Insuch preferably formed of spring steel, or other spring metal, and is provided with a resilient loop 89, preferably formed integral therewith. The body 86 has inwardly turned flanges 96 extending at an angle to said body, the inner edges thereof 75 In some cases (Fig. 14) it is desirable to rebeing spaced apart sufliciently to provide clearance for the runner webs 28. The inner end 01' the spring loop 89 is provided with flanges 9 l, 92,

and 93 which engage around one flange 94 of a supporting channel 95 It should be understood that the inner end of the spring loop 89 can be provided with any kind of attaching devices for connecting to wooden studs or other frame work as hereinabcve described. With this construction the impact of sound waves against the panel surface will be absorbed by the spring loops 89 of the clips, which are preferably of sufficient resiliency to compress somewhat under the impulse of sound waves audible to human hearing to dissipate the impulses and prevent their-transmission to the wall or ceiling supporting structure. In addition, the structure shown in Fig. 14, as well as the con-- struction illustrated in Fig. 1 is adapted to permit relative movement between the supporting structure and the panel surface, whereby to substantially prevent the stresses and strains ordinarily communicated to the panel surface by the supporting member when the supporting member is caused to twist, bend or shift due to building movements caused by settling and the like.

We would state in conclusion that while the illustrated examples constitute practical embodiments of our invention, we do not wish to limit ourselves precisely to these details, since manifestly, the same may be considerably varied without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:--

1. In a building construction, a pair of building boards, arrangedin aplane with the edges thereof in'adjoining relation, a runner strip having outstanding, opposed flanges forming channels for engaging and supporting said edges, a clip having bendably connected flanges forming channels for normally slidably engaging opposed flanges of said runner, said clip flanges being bent into locked position on said runner by engagement with said boards, and means for supporting said clip.

2. In a building construction, an H-shaped runner having opposed channels and flanges for the reception of adjoining edges of building boards, a clip having opposed channels and slidably attached to opposite flanges of said runner, one of said clip flanges normally extending 'at an angle into one of said runner channels so as to resiliently engage a board edge and be moved into locking position by said board edge, and means for attaching said clip to a supporting member.

3. In a building construction, a pair of building boards arranged in a plane with the edges thereof in adjoining relation, an H-shaped runner having opposed channels and flanges engaging the edges of said boards, a clip slidably engaging a pair of' runner flanges onone side of said board, said clip being locked in position by engagement with said board edges, and means for supporting said clip.

' 4. In a building construction, a metallic beam having an outstanding flange, a clip having opposed flanges engaging said beam flange and supported thereby, a second pair of opposed flanges on said clip, said second clip flanges forming channels, a runner having opposed flanges engaging said second clip flanges, said runner having opposed channels, and building boards having the edges thereof supported insaid runner channels.

5. In a building construction, a runner of sheet' metal having a pair of channel members con- 5 nected together by a body section and having the webs thereof in adjoining, parallel, spaced relation, a clip slidably mounted between said webs, said clip having laterally extending supporting flanges slidably engaging said runner between said body section and said channel members, a frame member, means for supporting said clip on said frame member, and boards having adjoining edges supported in said runner channels.

6. ha construction of the class described, a 15 sheet metal runner comprising a plurality of differently facing channels for the reception of adjoining edges of building boards, the flanges of said runner lying at the outer face of said boards presenting a substantially flush appearance with 2 0 the surface of said boards and being at the most only slightly raised from said surface, a support, and a clip having means in engagement with two oppositely extending substantially coplanar flanges on said runner and serving as a connec- 25 tion between. said runner and said support, said means being positioned inwardly in the structure relative to the plane of said runner flanges lying at the outer face of the boards.

7. In a construction of the class described, 30 building boards in edge-adjoining relationship, metallic 'runner means comprising channels formed by outstanding flanges for receiving the board edges, a supporting member, a clip in engagement with certain of said runner flanges,-said 35 clip having a body portion and a pair of flanges bent to extend laterally of said body portion in opposite directions and being in engagement with substantially coplanar flanges of said runner, and

means for connecting said clip to said supporting 40 member.

8: In a construction of the class described, a pair of panels having their edges in adjacent relationship, means in engagement with said, edges, an element in engagement with said panel- 4 edge engaging means, a supporting member, flexible means connecting said element and member to support the assembled structure adjacent said supporting member, and means for adjusting said flexible. means as desired to vary the distance between said assembled structure and said supporting member. Y

9. In a construction of the class described, a support member, a panel ceiling in spaced relationto said support member, strap means for connecting said support and ceiling, and means slidably associated with said strap means for locking an end of said'strap means in position adjacent the body of the strap.

10. In a, building construction, a runner of sheet metal having a body portion with edges folded back to form rear and front flanges of opposed channels for the reception of the edges of adjoining boards, said front flanges lying flush against the front face of said boards, said rear flanges lying adjacent the rear face of said boards, clip means for engaging said rear flanges, and means for supporting said clip.

FRED A. MANSKE. to

OLIVER E. GIBSON. 

